Knowledge Base

What technologies can improve my cell signal?

In 1973, Martin Cooper placed the world’s first mobile phone call from a New York City sidewalk. In the mid-1990s, the introduction of 2G networks and smaller phones began a revolution in telecommunications. Today, there are over 8 billion mobile, connected devices, and 5 billion people—two-thirds of the world’s population—have a mobile phone connection. As of 2017, most U.S. households have only a cellular phone.

Cellular carriers have done a remarkable job of providing nationwide cellular coverage, but one significant problem persists: Walking into a commercial or residential building often means losing all usable cellular signal. Sometimes this is because the outside signal was barely adequate to begin with, and can’t penetrate even simple wood framing and drywall of your home; other times, outside signal is relatively strong, but is still blocked by concrete and steel used to build commercial buildings or can’t make its way into a basement or interior room.

Cell signal booster technology addresses the problem of poor cellular reception. Cell signal boosters improve the strength and quality of cellular reception inside vehicles, offices, and large buildings. These systems gather available signal outside, amplify it, then rebroadcast it inside the building or vehicle. In a large building, this technology is also known as cellular DAS (a distributed antenna system).